I own a 6.5-284 and have built more than I can recall. Just a kick ass all around great performing cartridge. I've also been around 1K competitive shooters for a long time, over 20 years and this round has made quite a presence there. (it's where it came from actually)

Barrel life is about 1200 rounds max in a competitive gun, so don't expect to be able to shoot volumes of this stuff without consequence. It's a hot rod cartridge and it raises hell on the throat because of it.

Just the price you pay.

Hunting and/or target:

Stick a 1-8 twist barrel about 26-28 inches long and give it hell. A great load for deer is the Hornady 140 grain SST w/ 55 grains of 4831SC, a Federal GM210 all in a Lapua case. Set it up to float about .005" off the lands.

The 6.5-284 seems so popular it's a wonder the rifle manufacturers dont start chambering for it and producing factory ammo too. It seems better than a lot of the dumb new calibres they have come out with recently.